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Be Careful Shopping at J&R in NYC

Not all camera stores are created equal. Sure, they all sell the same brands and models. But, how they sell these cameras really determines the customer experience.

I spent a good portion of last Friday walking around NYC looking for the Inception movie posters. Eventually, I ended-up downtown near J&R on Park Row. With both Adorama and B&H closed on Friday afternoons, J&R has been a good choice for a last minute purchase.

While I was looking around the camera dept., two different customers came in looking for the Canon T2i. Both customers dealt with the same salesperson. Both customers were swayed by that salesperson into purchasing the Nikon D5000. Reason? J&R was sold out of the T2i. So, instead of loosing the sale, the saleperson explained that the year-old D5000 was a superior camera to the brand new T2i.

But, what really annoyed me about this saleperson was the fact that he lied to at least one customer just to get the sale. One customer wanted the T2i because he wanted to shoot 1080p video. The D5000 can not shoot 1080p; in fact, no Nikon can shoot 1080p video. When I pointed that out to this customer, the salesperson interrupted me and said I was mistaken!

But, the real cherry on this experience was what happened next. J&R actually had one Canon T2i left. As I was leaving, I heard this sleazy salesperson and another one arguing over who was going to buy it for themselves!

Now, I have purchased from J&R in the past. They have great sales. In fact, I have also purchased from that same salesperson. He seems very knowledgeable and has been in the camera dept. for a while. But, this is also NYC and “buyer beware” is very true. If you know what you want, you need to stand-up for yourself and not be swayed by someone trying to make a sale.

I guess I am just spoiled from dealing with Adorama. I know that I can walk into Adorama with questions and get fair answers … even if that means walking out without purchasing anything. That says a lot about how Adorama does business and why they have a loyal customer base.

Thanks for the insight about J&R. I’ve only bought from them once and didn’t have any issues, but it was an Internet order and I knew what I wanted & didn’t have any questions. You are 1000% right about Adorama – I’ve spent thousands at the place and have not had one bad experience, ever. In fact, I ask for and get an Adorama gift card every year for Christmas – usually the ink doesn’t even dry on it & I’ve spent it! I’ll be extra careful with J&R & will likely avoid them in the future.